The disclosure relates generally to mounting assemblies to secure wheelchair back supports to the canes of wheelchairs. In one aspect, the mounting includes a gravity-driven latch for attaching the mounting assembly to a support point or support post on the wheel chair canes. In a further aspect, the mounting assembly includes a mounting clamp support assemblies from which the support post extends.
Wheelchairs generally comprise a frame with surface engaging wheels, a seating surface and a back support. The frame usually is made from tubular steel or the like. The seat and back can be a more pliant or flexible material such as vinyl or canvas for example. The frame includes two spaced apart upright members behind the seat, sometime referred to as posts or canes. The back support usually is suspended in a generally vertical orientation between the canes.
In many cases the original back support does not provide sufficient or appropriate support, or is not positioned in between the wheel chair posts, to meet the seated user's specific physical needs or tastes. The user may replace the original equipment back support with another back support, for example a more versatile or adjustable back support or one that is more rigid or firmer. These back supports can be attached to the original equipment canes or the canes can be removed and the replacement back installed.
Known back rests and mounting assemblies for back rests are complex and do not always allow for simple adjustment of the back rest, for example, without a tool. They generally include a back and do not provide for a mounting assembly that can be used to mount different back supports between the wheel chair canes. Moreover, they generally have a number of different adjustment points that must be operated to vary the angular position, vertical position and horizontal position or location of the back relative to the seat. It would be advantageous, therefore, to have a mounting assembly for a wheelchair back that can be used with different backs, that can allow for adjustment of the back in a plurality of ways using a single adjustment point and that can be adjusted without the use of tools.
Also, most currently available mounting assemblies for the wheel chair back rests do not allow for attachment to wheelchair canes without a tool. Additionally, currently available mounting assemblies do not allow for the mounting assembly to be securely connected to the wheelchair support posts when the mounting assembly is not locked or fastened to the support posts. Therefore, it would be advantageous to have a mounting assembly for a wheelchair back that can be easily unlocked using one hand without a tool and that can be securely connected to support posts on the wheelchair canes even in an unlocked position.
The mounting clamps of wheelchair posts of the prior art generally do not provide multiple support locations for the mounting assembly in a single clamp. They generally require the use of multiple clamps per wheelchair post and multiple loose parts for each clamp. It would be advantageous to employ a clamp that can be manipulated with one hand, without tools, that comprises fewer loose parts that may become inconveniently disengaged or even lost.